U.S. National Science Foundation, in collaboration with Amazon, announces latest Fairness in AI grant projects
In 2019, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Amazon announced a collaboration — the Fairness in AI program — to strengthen and support fairness in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
To date, in two rounds of proposal submissions, NSF has awarded 21 research grants in areas such as ensuring fairness in AI algorithms and the systems that incorporate them, using AI to promote equity in society, and developing principles for human interaction with AI-based systems.
In June of 2021, Amazon and the NSF opened the third round of submissions with a focus on theoretical and algorithmic foundations; principles for human interaction with AI systems; technologies such as natural language understanding and computer vision; and applications including hiring decisions, education, criminal justice, and human services.
Now Amazon and NSF are announcing the recipients of 13 selected projects from that latest call for submissions.
The awardees, who collectively will receive up to $9.5 million in financial support, have proposed projects that address unfairness and bias in artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, develop principles for human interaction with artificial intelligence systems, and theoretical frameworks for algorithms, and improve accessibility of speech recognition technology.
“We are thrilled to share NSF’s selection of thirteen Fairness in AI proposals from talented researchers across the United States,” said Prem Natarajan, Alexa AI vice president of Natural Understanding. “The increasing prevalence of AI in our everyday lives calls for continued multi-sector investments into advancing their trustworthiness and robustness against bias. Amazon is proud to have partnered with the NSF for the past three years to support this critically important research area.”
Amazon, which provides partial funding for the program, does not participate in the grant-selection process.
“These awards are part of NSF’s commitment to pursue scientific discoveries that enable us to achieve the full spectrum of artificial intelligence potential at the same time we address critical questions about their uses and impacts,” said Wendy Nilsen, deputy division director for NSF’s Information and Intelligent Systems Division.
More information about the Fairness in AI program is available on NSF website, and via their program update. Below is the list of the 2022 awardees, and an overview of their projects.
